Members of my family sent me boxes of wooden rolling stock my grandfather scratch built in the 60's and 70's. These are flat cars, stock cars and other various items for a Circus train and have great sentimental value to the family.
However, they are all quite dirty. What would be the best way to clean them up? Q-tip and water? I would consider immersing a plastic car and using a toothbrush but not these balsa wood cars.
My goal is to get them cleaned up for display only at my local club’s shows.
Thanks in advance.
Rob Carignan
Portland Maine
You could try using canned air and blow them off. Depending on how fragile they may be determines how close you hold the can. Good luck.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Rob,
I agree with blowing off what you can with canned air. After that I would try gently wiping down the cars with Murphy's Oil Soap in water. It's meant to clean wood.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I'd start with a small soft brush to loosen the dirt and then gently blow it off. After that I'd look up what restorers do for old paintings.
Whatever you do, do a small out of the way section first.
Good luck
Payl
A small, slightly damp, soft paint brush will remove dust from hard to reach areas.
If the cars are already painted, DO NOT USE ANY WOOD CLEANING OIL !!!
A damp brush is your best bet. Don't use a lot of water, you could warp the wood.
Rust...... It's a good thing !
I've tried several sites to upload apublic image, but no luck. Sorry.
Hello All,
What a great treasure!
If you have a Google Account check out this thread to upload photos.
How to Post Photos With Built-In Magnification (Google Drive)
Good luck with your restoration project.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
KimbleMembers of my family sent me boxes of wooden rolling stock my grandfather scratch built in the 60's and 70's. These are flat cars, stock cars and other various items for a Circus train and have great sentimental value to the family. However, they are all quite dirty. What would be the best way to clean them up? Q-tip and water? I would consider immersing a plastic car and using a toothbrush but not these balsa wood cars.
It's just a guess on my part, but it's likely that the wood is not balsa, but maybe basswood, which would make it not only stronger, but also less likely to absorb water.If the cars are painted, that should also reduce the absortion of water, but I'm also curious about lettering on these cars...is it painted-on, or is it decals?The paint on wood should be relatively resistent to cleaning, either with a damp cloth, or perhaps a not-too-stiff toothbrush.When I first got into model railroading in the mid-'50s, I had plastic or metal locos and rolling stock, but decided to scratchbuild some wooden structures. Not too much later, I discovered all sorts of plastic...sheets, strips, shapes and that was, for me, the end of use for balsa and basswood.
In 1988, I did return to working with wood...first to build our house and then followed-up with using left-over lumber to create my HO scale layout.
Wayne
KimbleMy goal is to get them cleaned up for display only at my local club’s shows.
Hi Rob!
You are a very lucky guy! I can only dream about getting boxes full of scratch built rolling stock from my predecessors. I would love to be restoring old rolling stock whether it was scratch built or built from kits, but alas my uncles and grandparents were never into model trains. I have to put up with what I can find on eBay.
Here are my suggestions on how to deal with the older, somewhat fragile cars:
First, start with the weakest cleaning solutions and then work towards the strongest. A gentle blast from an air brush would likely remove most of the dust. Emphasis on 'gentle'!
Next, a weak solution of Dawn detergent gently applied with a Q-tip or soft paint brush would be a good step. I definitely don't recommend soaking the cars because that could result in you ending up with a pile of wet sticks! If there is still some loose paint, try gently scraping with a #11 blade. Whatever is left after that is likely pretty well attached to the original wood pieces but you might need to do a bit of sanding with fine grade sandpaper to feather the edges.
You will no doubt have a few broken pieces and now is the time to repair them. You can use basswood strips if you want to be really authentic, but styrene is easier to work with and nobody will be able to tell the difference once everything is painted.
My next suggestion would be to seal in whatever paint is left using Testors Dullcote or Gloscote.
Restoring old rolling stock is one of my favourite hobby activities!
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
I used to restore those cars (still do repairs on occasion). First get some very soft makeup brushes and dust them off (they come in all sizes). Then if you want them cleaner I use Woodland Scenics Dust Dabber. If you need to do repairs you may have to fabricate any z bracing or modify existing commercial stuff. I tend to use gel ACC for repairs to put on new parts or reglue loose stuff.
I have found that using a soft, clean paint brush gets off most of the dirt and damp q-tips get the rest. Thanks for all the advice.